Shut ‘em down

Tis’ that time of the year. Your squad – despite drafting a good mix of young and old super starters (Pedro and Verlander for example) – is lead by a scrappy young guy that few heard of before this year (McLouth, Gavin Floyd).

But the gravy train stops now. They will be shut down for the season if there is any reason the team can logically do so. And by logically, I mean anything but logic. If the team isn’t in the thick of it and your starter gets a hang nail, expect him to be sidelined.

This week we’ve had two young guns go down. I expect neither to get back up. Johnny Cueto and John Maine both have considerable injuries. If this were May, you’d likely see them back in a month or so. But if you own them and it’s not a deep keeper league, feel free cut ‘em.

And now for 3 Strikes:

1. Nelson Cruz smacked a double and HR in his first game since being called up from AAA. Down in the minors his numbers were insane, but his track record in the majors (he’s 29) isn’t so good. The thread of hope to hold on to is that he’s seemed to learn more plate discipline in the minors, which could pay off in the majors.

2. Anthony Reyes – one of my favorite sleepers in the 2nd half – is a must grab at this point. He’s pitched four games since being traded to Cleveland from St. Louis (which hated him for some reason). In those four starts, he’s tallied 24.1 innings with a 2.22 ERA, 11K and 10BB. The K-BB rate is worrisome, but he’s always been a strong prospect without a support system around him. Now that’s different.

3. The closer carousel continues, Frank Francisco is the closer in Texas with Every-Day-Eddie being sent back to the Twins.